Gordon Tootoosis
Birth : 1941-10-25, Poundmaker Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada
Death : 2011-07-05
History
Gordon Tootoosis first acting role was in the film Alien Thunder (1974), with Chief Dan George and Donald Sutherland.
He portrayed Albert Golo in 52 episodes of North of 60 in the 1990s. He is best known to British audiences for playing the Native American Joe Saugus, who negotiates the purchase of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet series 3 (2002). Gordon appeared in the CBC Television mini-series By Way of the Stars with Eric Schweig as Black Thunder and Tantoo Cardinal as Franoise.
He appeared in the award-winning movie Legends of the Fall (1994), and starred with Russell Means in Disney's Pocahontas (1995) and Song of Hiawatha (1997). In 1999, he and Tantoo Cardinal became founding members of the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company. In 2011, he appeared in Gordon Winter at the Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and Prairie Scene in Ottawa, his first stage role in 15 years.
Tootoosis won a Gemini Award for his work on the animated show Wapos Bay: The Series and was nominated twice for his work on North of 60.
The Chief
The story throws Elvis impersonators, Indians, modern cowboys, a 6-foot-tall blond assassin, a frat boy, a corrupt sheriff and a prostitute into a chase for a priceless American Indian artifact stolen during a poker game at an Indian casino
John
Doomsday Prophecy is a 2011 sci-fi disaster television film by Jason Bourque starring Jewel Staite, Alan Dale and A.J. Buckley.
Soft as Snow
On a night so cold it hurts to breathe, Soft as Snow and Cold as Ice meet Thomas, a drunk young man, who's been dumped on the outskirts of town. When Thomas suggests the two men should walk back with him, they persuade him to stay the night.
Grandpa
It's an experiment in human behavior. It's an exploration of the most natural of animal impulses. It's something new under the moon. And it bites. When security dispatcher Aaron Scates is blinded in an explosion, he's put in the care of Dr. Andrea Hewlitt, famous in her field for spearheading extraordinary-though controversial-medical breakthroughs. Her newest is cross-species organ transplants, and Aaron is her first human subject. When a severely wounded wolf is brought to Dr. Hewlitt's office by museum curator Lydia Armstrong, Dr. Hewlitt leaps on the opportunity and successfully transplants the wolf's eyes to Aaron-despite Lydia's objections. Aaron, however, is thrilled. Not only can he see again, he can see in the dark. He also has an unusually acute sense of hearing, and tears into a raw steak like never before. Unfortunately, he also tends growl, and to target people as prey.
Chief Red Cloud
Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, the story is told through two unique perspectives: Charles Eastman, a young, white-educated Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation, and Sitting Bull the proud Lakota chief whose tribe won the American Indians’ last major victory at Little Big Horn.
Harold
A detective teams up with a young female archaeologist to unravel the mysterious death of a 'bog body' found in a native swamp rumoured to have curative powers. It is the story of two wounded souls searching for healing and redemption
Gordy
Based on the movie Open Season and found on the DVD, partners in crime Boog and Elliot try to raid an RV for fresh-baked bear claws.
Gordy (voice)
Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.
A serial killer preys on prostitutes from the mean streets of a small, mid-west city as the police turn a blind eye. With an insatiable sexual appetite, the killer brutalizes his victims and leaves their bodies at Moon Lake outside of town. A voice inside the killer's head commands him to kill, his victims beg for death. John Martin Crawford is only too happy to oblige. But Moon Lake happens to be a spiritual holy ground for the local Native Americans, and soon the victims' ghosts are haunting both family members and complete strangers in desperate pleas for justice so their souls may rest. A supernatural story that reminds us the dead are not powerless.
Adelard Fox
An elderly Cree man decides that before he dies he must travel via Greyhound from his remote Indian Reservation in Northern Canada, into the southern United States to visit the grave of Hank Williams. Along the way he and his traveling companion, a 17 yr old nephew, are picked up as a regional human-interest story in the US press. News of their growing celebrity causes a stir back home among an eclectic cast of locals; including a chief running desperately for re-election, a young girl trying desperately to find a prom date, a teacher trying desperately to help, and a social worker trying desperately to get a transfer.
Dan John
Two men are on the run from a nasty sheriff and some bikers after they get accused of robbing locals who got together to play Bingo.
Kills Enemy
In South Dakota, in an Indian reservation, an old storyteller Indian asks his grandson Shane, who is in trouble owing money to some bad guys, to take his old pony and him to Albuquerque to the great powwow, an Indian meeting. While traveling, Grandpa tells mysterious Indian tales of love, friendship and magic.
James Harper
A police constable guns down a First Nations chief one snow night in Winnipeg, a tragedy that will impact the community for years to come.
Floyd
Angel and Randy Henry are a sister and brother, caught on the mean streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. While Angel finds the strength to escape her seemingly hopeless situation, Randy slips deeper into a world consumed by abandonment and fuelled by drugs.
Standing Bear
In an Alaskan fishing town, a local crime boss suspects a local fisherman knows where his stolen money is, but this fisherman is no regular Joe.
Ghost Fox
Against a backdrop of clashing cultures, John Myron and Angela Wilson find each other and over the years form a powerful bond. One tragic night, John rescues Angela from a wicked act of betrayal. Faced with its aftermath, Angela flees town, unaware that she has put into motion a dramatic and intense string of events that will forever change the course of their lives. Harboring a secret, John guides Angela to a shocking realization that will uncover the past. A dramatic contemporary love story combining elements of spirituality, heart and integrity.
Mushom
Christmas at Wapos Bya starts with a Mushom's (grandfather's) need to pass along the ancient tradition of hunting. Food is running low and Christmas is just around the corner. The children want to help their grandfather, so they head out to find him. A violent snowstorm catches up with them, and before long, they are trapped in the wilderness. Will they be able to save Christmas?
Albert Golo
The body of a trapper from the community of Swan Landing washes up on the banks of Lynx River while the two towns are in bitter negotiations over a new gas pipeline. The near violent discussions have rekindled an ancient feud between the bands over land boundaries and trapping rights. At the same time, a strange illness sweeps through the homes of Lynx River, only affecting the children. Sarah Birkett’s skill as a nurse proves to be no match for the mass hysteria that results.
Marvin
A Cherokee boy is a haemophiliac in a culture obsessed with blood identity.
Dog Havasu
Two not so bright small time crooks end up with a baby girl by "accident" and find a change in their lives. Billy (Ulrich) becomes the guy to take care of the child and look after it. Buford (Oldman) wants to get rid of it, but the others they knit with are for doing the best they can. They conspire to rob a pawn shop to get the necessary money, only to end up heroes for stopping a heist already in play.
Old Governor
After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.
John Ours
An orphaned bear cub is adopted by little Emily and her family. They name the cub Masha, raise her and release her back into the wild. Three years go by, and Emily is lost deep in the forest. Cold, frightened and alone in the darkness, she falls and is knocked unconscious. When she awakens, Emily is amazed to see that a brown bear has kept her warm and dry all night by cuddling her. It's Masha – and Emily is overjoyed to be reunited with the bear just when she needs a friend most. Together the two bravely set off on an adventure to find their way home. Bear With Me is a tale the whole family will find as exciting as it is heart-warming . . . and the magnificent forests of the Pacific Northwest lend this story of loyalty, friendship and adventure a magic all its own.
Rolling Thunder
This movie depicts the life of a small Indian tribe, in a time shortly before the white men became a threat. In the focus of the story is the young Skywalker, who woos cute Morning Sun, but can't seem to convince her father of his qualities. When the outcast Kayowa attack the camp, he hopes for an opportunity to impress him.
Chief Big Bear
The story of Big Bear, the real life Cree chief who campaigned for his people and their land against the Canadian government in the 1870s and 1880s.
Sakniss
A colonial family seeks a better life in Maine's wilderness in this powerful adventure. When William Hallowell leaves behind 13-year-old son Matt to safeguard their claim, the boy relies on his new friendship with the Penobscot Indians for survival.
Iagoo
This adaptation of an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow tells the tale of Hiawatha (Litefoot), a brave Native American Indian, and his love for the beautiful Minehaha (Irene Bedard)
Narrator (voice)
This documentary introduces us to thousands of Indigenous Canadians who enlisted and fought alongside their countrymen and women during World War II, even though they could not be conscripted. Ironically, while they fought for the freedom of others, they were being denied equality in their own country and returned home to find their land seized.
Ben
Jake Barnes and his two kids, Sean and Jessie, have moved to Alaska after his wife died. He is a former airline pilot now delivering toilet paper across the mountains. During an emergency delivery in a storm his plane goes down somewhere in the mountains. Annoyed that the authorities aren't doing enough, Jessie and Sean set out on an adventure to find their father with the help of a polar bear which they have saved from a ferocious poacher. Conflict ensues.
Akicita
The legendary Native American chieftain refuses to go with his people peacefully to the reservation and starts a rebellion.
Wesley Birdsong
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Mopeah
Teenage Callie has a wild streak. When her mother goes to London on business, she sends Callie to her sister's ranch for a dose of hard work and responsibility. Callie is sullen, at first, naturally, but perks up at the sight of a beautiful but wild black horse. When she overhears of the horse's destruction, due to his inability to be tamed, she arranges to steal the horse with a fellow ranch hand named Rafe. In hiding, the two begin to calm the horse and start his training. It works. But, will their hideaway be discovered?
Kekata (voice)
Pocahontas, daughter of a Native American tribe chief, falls in love with an English soldier as colonists invade 17th century Virginia.
Chief Powhatan
Englishmen come to explore and settle the new world. There they find natives who are curious about their "firesticks" and strange customs.
One Stab
An epic tale of three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of 1900s USA and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love.
Joe Moon
Jesse Threebears is a troubled Native-American teen who has been tossed from one foster home to the next since his mother died when he was an infant. Finally, he is taken in by his grandfather who, after a ten year stint in prison, is living on the reservation. With the help of his grandfather and several others who live on the reservation, Jesse begins to learn about his heritage and how to come to terms with his troubled life.
Charlie
A young boy heads off to the Yukon after hearing tales about the Gold Rush, and he forms an unwavering friendship with a heroic Alsatian dog called Buck.
Grandfather
The formation of the Iroquois Confederacy presented by a First Nations grandfather explaining the significance of the Great Peace to his granddaughter.
Hank Amaruk
Darly, a waitress with a past that's weighing her down, decides to drive to Alaska to try and come to terms with her unfortunate history. Along the way, she meets Marianne, an impulsive young woman leaving an abusive relationship. The two hit the road together and keep driving north, bonding over the hardships that they have endured and meeting a number of eccentric characters as they get closer to their destination.
Mewasin
An archaeological expedition journeys to Manitoba, Canada, in search of a legendary crucifix supposedly buried in an ancient Viking grave.
Old Aenons
Missionary Father LaForgue travels to the New World in hopes of converting Algonquin Indians to Catholicism. Accepted, though warily, by the Indians, LaForgue travels with the Indians using his strict Catholic rules and ideals to try and impose his religion.
Smiling Knife
Jimmy Pearls, a directionless young drifter, kills Henry Logan's son and two other men after he found out that they murdered Jimmy's parents for their land. Trying to get away from Logan's vengeance, he goes to ground in the mountains and meets Winston Patrick Culler, an old trapper, who becomes his traveling companion and protector. Jimmy doesn't understand though why Culler is helping him...
Poundmaker
Tom Bradshaw searches for his family while riding the rails in this family drama set in the 1880s.
Stone Fox
Little Willy must win a dog sled race in order to save his grandfather's cattle ranch.
Chief Many Horses
A young married woman, after a kidnapping, becomes attached to an Indian.
A performing arts film by Alanis Obomsawin, it documents efforts to raise funds for the James Bay Cree and was made at a time when Cree territory was threatened by hydro-electric projects. Amisk represents early work by Obomsawin, a trailblazer in Canadian Aboriginal film.
Almighty Voice
The true story of Canadian Mountie Dan Candy's pursuit of a Native American that killed his partner.
